For 2025, my word is Faith. "Everything always works out for me." That's what my daughter says to herself, multiple times every day. When you have that fundamental belief in your own well-being, the universe conspires to support you in that belief. Repeating an affirmation trains your reticular activating system to identify any new [...]
2024 Annual Review Table of Contents Every Annual Review that I publish on this blog contains 4 parts: What were my victories? What could have gone better? How many New Year’s Resolutions did I keep? What are my resolutions for next year? To see all of my annual reviews, click here. To use my [...]
ChatGPT has me much less enthusiastic about writing and publishing. In the nearly two years since consumer-facing AI chatbot apps have been made available, as a writer, I have found my own interest in writing has been diminishing. I find it harder to send newsletters, write my next book, and post on social media, because [...]
When a public speaker wants to charge professional rates, they need professional marketing collateral. In addition to a /speaking page on yourname.com, every professional speaker needs to have: 3-minute video demo reel Multi-page PDF Speaker Kit Media Kit with headshots, bio, and introduction Since I help people tell better stories using digital media, creating speaker [...]
How do authors build a thriving business around their published work? Spoiler alert: it's not by selling more books. In my work over the past decade with authors, coaches, and speakers, I have been behind-the-scenes of multiple 6- and 7-figure businesses. I've seen how their businesses are structured, developed the commercial offers they make to [...]
In every story, there are three characters: the hero, the villain, and the victim. A century ago, American film was born out of the vaudeville scene. The main storytelling medium at the time was melodrama, when the characters were almost comically basic. Think of the mustachio-twirling villain, tying a damsel in distress to the train [...]
What's the secret to getting more done? Is it: Working harder, or Working smarter? If you've ever hit burnout before, I'm sure you know the right answer. Sometimes the answer isn't in doing more, but in having less to do. One of the best ways you can do less, but still get everything done, is [...]
Do you have haters? People who despise what you do, what you say, or who you are? This could be a good sign that you are saying something meaningful. People who dare to take a stand on a topic will be divisive. Some people will hate your message, while others will adore it. If you [...]
Picture this: Your 3-hour Zoom workshop just started, and your computer freezes! 😬 What do you do? The show must go on! In last week's Magnetic Messages Masterclass, my computer froze precisely at 10:01 am. (My suspicion, for other event hosts, is: I was sharing a Zoom whiteboard in a browser window, and annotating with [...]
New ideas are only found in surprise. Before Thomas Edison demonstrated the electric lamp on 31 December 1879, he was a laughingstock in the press. "I have not failed," he famously said, "I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." To innovate something new, Edison had to leave behind what he already knew. New ideas [...]